Lafayette Federated Church

One of the great blessings of Holy Week is the opportunity you and I have to take time out of the typical routine to contemplate what it means to be a Resurrection People—what it really means that our hope as Christians is uniquely wrapped up in the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is true that every Sunday when we gather together as the church we are celebrating Jesus’ triumphant defeat of sin and death. Yet, during this special time of year, we have the unique joy of reminding ourselves that the resurrection is, should be, and MUST be more than mere theological ascent. The resurrection of Jesus is our source of joy, hope, power, and ultimate purpose as Believers.
The Easter season is also a time to become refocused on the fact that what we are as Christians, what we do as Christians, and what we want to become as Christians is all wrapped up in the person of Jesus. We worship Him, we follow Him, we love Him-not the idea or concept of Him. One of the key songs in this year’s Easter musical at LFC was “Glorious Day.” I love not only the tune-both the modern tune and the traditional hymn tune-but I also love the way the song outlines the key events and moments in Jesus’ life:

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

[Chorus:]Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

During the next four days of Holy Week, we will be providing a daily devotion for you and your family to help you prepare your hearts for Easter. Instead of following the events of each day of Jesus’ final week before His crucifixion, this year we will be taking a bird’s eye view of Jesus’ life, starting with His birth, His death, His resurrection, and His ultimate Second Coming. Our hope is that you will be reminded that the Gospel story is really the story of Jesus Himself, not just the story of the final days of Jesus earthly ministry. The Gospel story is the entire story of the Bible, and the entire story of the Bible is fulfilled in and points to Jesus.

May this week find you renewed in the wonder and the hope that God Himself loved you and me so much that he came to live, love, die, and be raised from the dead so that we might know Him and be with Him forever.

Pastor Aaron Robb